Unreported robbery in Tacoma Mall barbershop may have provoked teen’s murder, records say

Two young men among several teenagers arrested last week by Tacoma police were charged with robbing a man at a barbershop. According to court records, prosecutors think the stickup might have provoked the murder of 16-year-old high school student Larry “Trae” Marshall.

Isaiah Jeremiaa Williams, 18, and Tyrus Kenneth Walker-Scott, 19, were charged Friday in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree robbery for allegedly using an “AR15 style pistol” to rob a man in a crowded barbershop in the Tacoma Mall. A third unidentified suspect in the crime has not been arrested.

The man they’re accused of robbing was Isiah Martin, according to charging documents, a 29-year-old gang member now charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Marshall. Four days after Martin was robbed March 25, he allegedly drove two teenagers to a West End apartment complex to wait until Marshall walked into the parking lot, where the teens allegedly fired 33 bullets at Marshall, killing him.

Martin was arrested in Portland about a week after the shooting, and he was arraigned April 13, according to court records. He remained in custody Tuesday at Pierce County Jail, held in lieu of $1.5 million bail. Bail for his alleged accomplices was set at $1 million, and both are still in custody.

Marshall’s death is believed to have been retaliation for the robbery, Pierce County prosecutors wrote in charging papers for an unrelated case Williams is a suspect in. Both of the accused robbers were reportedly friends of Marshall, but it’s unclear why Marshall was targeted. The deputy prosecuting attorney assigned to several of the cases, Lisa Wagner, declined to comment.

The robbery of Martin occurred on a Saturday afternoon at the mall in a barbershop full of customers, including children, records say, but the crime went unreported until Tacoma Police Department detectives began investigating Marshall’s murder. According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, Williams and Walker-Scott were identified as friends of Marshall shortly after police responded to the shooting. Both went to the scene and were reportedly distraught over their friend’s death.

It’s unclear exactly how investigators connected the March 25 robbery to the shooting. Prosecutors wrote in charging documents for the robbery that it came to light as a possible motive “during the course of the homicide investigation.”

Williams and Tyrus-Walker were arraigned in court Friday and bail was set at $35,000. The defendants posted bail Monday and were released until their next court date.

Robbery in the Tacoma Mall

The robbery began at about 1:30 p.m. when a barber finished cutting Martin’s hair. According to the probable cause document, the three robbers had entered and left the shop almost an hour earlier, then returned a few minutes before the barber took off Martin’s apron.

Detectives obtained video, allegedly from one of Walker-Scott’s social media accounts, that showed the beginning of the crime. Surveillance cameras in the barbershop showed several other angles.

Prosecutors wrote in the charging documents that detectives have been investigating “numerous” armed robberies and violent crimes related to Walker-Scott and Williams, so the lead detective knew what they looked like from other images and videos. Records state they also obtained GPS phone data that showed Walker-Scott’s phone was at the Tacoma Mall at the time of the robbery.

The social media video pans from the ground to Martin, who is seated in a wheelchair and appears to be holding a wad of cash, records state. Walker-Scott and Martin allegedly exchanged a few words before the video ends. Surveillance video shows the rest. Prosecutors wrote that after the two spoke, Williams began to pull something from his backpack, partially revealing the “AR15 style pistol.”

Throughout the robbery, Williams allegedly used the weapon to intimidate witnesses who tried to intervene. No gunshots were fired. According to the probable cause document, the barber who had been cutting Martin’s hair tried unsuccessfully to defuse the situation. Several customers left the store and others told them to take it outside.

Walker-Scott and Williams motioned for Martin to give them what he was holding, records state, and the third suspect grabbed on to the object, allegedly telling him “give me everything.” At some point, Walker-Scott allegedly punched Martin while the third suspect wrestled the item away. According to the probable cause document, the three got whatever Martin was holding and walked out.

Arrest leads to suspects in other crimes

Detectives found video from outside the mall that showed the robbery suspects arrive in a white Ford Escape. The vehicle was reportedly stolen March 19 in an armed-carjacking in Auburn, and it was recovered March 31 at Lakeside Landing, the West End apartment complex where the fatal shooting of Marshall took place.

Police arrested Walker-Scott and Williams April 12. According to court records, a SWAT team detained Williams while serving a search warrant at an apartment complex catty-corner from Lakeside Landing.

Three others were detained, records state, including two 16-year-old boys now charged as adults for shooting a store clerk during an attempted robbery at a South End smoke shop. Williams is suspected of driving those two teenagers to and from the robbery, according to charging documents, but he has not been charged in that case.

Walker-Scott was stopped while allegedly driving a stolen vehicle. Two passengers were detained, one of which was a 19-year-old now charged in a drive-by shooting from last year.